Halo: Intent
by Kamikaze duck
Summary: 2555. John Everest fights the covenant for the lasting peace he knows it will bring. Victory is all but assured, but the Covenant continue to fight for their journey. Will they grasp it again? And where has Gene Cole disappeared to? R&R!
1. Prologue

_Author Disclaimer: I do not own the Halo Franchise in any way, shape, or form._

_Prologue – _"_...our fortress among the stars._" – Doctor Catherine Halsey

**August 22, 2552 1600 Zulu **

**Epsilon Eridani System, Reach**

**New Alexandria**

Screaming, explosions, beams of light, tracers, engines, all of it was apart of a horribly fantastic show taking place for the fates of the inhabitants of this once peaceful city. The 419th Marine Division fought tooth and nail for the city alongside the _Revered Saint _an UNSC frigate assigned to evacuate the city. In the end the Covenant overpowered them with sheer numbers and firepower. But what the UNSC lacked in those categories made up in sheer tenacity, tactics, and bravery as they led the civilians out. Entire units destroyed just to save the innocent. The brutish covenant advanced with murderous intent in their malicious eyes. Entire city blocks were leveled from the exchanges of ravenous fire. The covenant may have taken the city but they paid for each inch of it with their stained blood all over the pavement and walls.

Through the chaos Genette Cole was moving to the evacuation station as the pelicans started loading civilians to take to the frigate stationed above. Banshees flew overhead dropping green orbs among the civilians. AA guns opened up and hornets intercepted. The flight of Banshees fell from the sky as high velocity rounds ripped them apart with apparent ferocity. Gene watched with awe, as the UNSC response was swift and brutal, it made her think back to John and wonder where he might be.

She shook her head, now was not the time to think on such things. She made it to a pelican. The marine directing traffic stood next to a terminal. "Ma'am the AI here says here you are to take Bravo 34 up to…wow says it classified, some type of spook ship leaving the system I guess. Your lucky, the pelican is here for you especially." Gene stood their dumbstruck. _What was so important about me that I got my own ship?_

The marine gestured towards a completely black painted pelican with the ONI seal on the side. A gentleman stepped out with a squad of ODSTs. He wore a black and white uniform and cap. The ONI symbol present on his collar and cap. He appeared as an older gentleman, a cluster on his shoulder indicating the rank of Lt Commander.

"Ma'am we have orders to escort you to the _Leviathan_ and take you back to Earth. Wouldn't be here if you weren't the grand-daughter of the late Preston Cole if you don't mind me saying." The man saluted and gestured to the pelican. "We are in a hurry, the Covies are taking the air slowly but surely, soon our departure window will close."

Gene shifted uneasily, her brunette hair swinging around from the wind produced by the pelican's thrusters. "Well I see nothing left here, but what about these people, they deserve to leave just as much as I do!" The ONI hearing an explosion close by accompanied by screams walked up to her, produced a needle and stabbed her in the neck before she could recover. Gene collapsed into the man's arms and was hauled into the pelican.

"Make sure she is comfortable when she wakes up, Everest wouldn't be happy if he found out she was mistreated." The mysterious officer gestured. The pelican took off and proceeded to high orbit.

Unbeknownst to them the marine who had been manning the terminal had been shot and did not register that a certain Ms. Genette Kimberly Cole, Age 20, had indeed been able to leave the planet and the black ops pelican had picked her up.

The jackal sneered as he looked upon his fresh kill at the human terminal. All the women, children, and elderly screaming and running in circles, the elites in their cloaking fields, deactivated, and started shooting indiscriminately into the mass of humans. Hundreds were hit and lying in pools of blood with cauterized wounds, terror still etched on their faces.

Over 7 Covenant legions numbering 10,000 each marched against the beleaguered defenders of the 419th. They held firm against wave after wave of grunt and jackal forces. Elites and Hunters made their way into the fray, many finding death to snipers and heavy ordinance. The 419th itself numbered at least 20,000 experienced marines. Armor, aircraft, and artillery joined in the cacophony of noise throughout the city. The Covenant would bombard a particular section and the UNSC would counter barrage.

The two armies danced with each other for what seemed like an eternity in an urban hell. Marines fought valiantly to hold onto this former paradise, only to fall to the covenants superior numbers. For the Covenant this was a lousy victory, the marines inflicted upon them over 50,000 casualties along with the _Revered Saint _shitting on all three Corvettes in station over the city. A CSS Battle cruiser came on station and dueled with the _Revered Saint, which_ resulted in it taking heavy plasma scoring and its tactical retreat. Over 12,000 civilians remained on the ground to be slaughtered by the religious fanatics of the Covenant.

In the end only 5,000 weary marines made a last stand defending the star port of civilians from the alien horde. As Everest watched the recording he snorted with disgust. His love was one of those civilians down there yet rumors were that a VIP named Cole was evacuated as was told by some of the survivors of the engagement –those who had evacuated to the frigate before it left-.

John continued the holographic battle. He watched as the Covenant battled it out with the marines in the streets and complexes. Snipers sat in their high perches dueling each other for the skyline. Aircraft fought over the dark stormy skies and their right to soar freely. Tanks engaged each other with bestial vigor. Rocket crews countering with fiendish grins as specters, hunters, and wraiths shared grizzly fates at the hands of the tenacious marine garrison. Colonel Howe held the line and fought off the horde as best as possible and in the end when all was lost, the civilians themselves having been slaughtered and only battalion remained, the valiant defenders set off the _Havoc_ that consumed the entire covenant ground force and most of the city. The _Holy Entity_ merely shrugged off the nuke as its purple shields shimmered and shined bright.

The storm protested the miniature sun with rain and thunder as if to _remember_ the valiant and brave defenders who had stood to the last. _Who are we if but human? _Thought Everest. We have as much a right to this Galaxy and right to exist as anyone else. He started to walk away from the holo projector sighing, but then Daelus appeared. The smart AI had been given to him by Captain Cole, the son of the famed Admiral and the father of Gene.

" Hit the play button John." The AI broke the silence that instilled the cold room. John sighed and hit 'play'. The explosion continued, but what happens afterward was the real show, the cruiser, having completed its task of eliminating humans in New Alexandria started to move back into orbit with the rest of the fleet for glassing procedure. Then just as the cruiser reach formation, it exploded from the inside out and unto itself was a star of its own creation. John smirked seeing that somehow in the last stand, the marines had gotten a nuke onboard the cruiser.

_This is why we will win. We are stars. We may die off, but we are reborn. We will reforge ourselves and become stronger. We will build another fortress among the stars again and humanity will reign supreme again. _


	2. Chapter 1: No Mercy for the Merciless

_Author Disclaimer: I do not own the Halo Franchise in any way, shape, or form._

_Chapter 1- No Mercy for the Merciless_

**June 2, 2555, 0800 Zulu**

**Raptim System, Azterc Orbit**

**UNSCS Troop Ship ****Argonev**

_I remember the smoothness of her skin and the softness of her eyes. The way she looked at me when I was on her mind. Her laughter the only thing I ever want to hear. All shattered like glass. All lost with a single careless, cold order from a faceless ship captain to abandon the civilians he had been ordered to rescue to save his own ass. I lost the only person I felt anything for. Now lost like sand in the wind._

Lieutenant John Everest stood on the brink of utter self-destruction at the mere utterance of the now fallen fortress world of Reach. An ODST by trade and farmer by heart, Everest conducted himself the best he could as a soldier of such an elite caste, he was the best. An unshakeable, unbeatable Helljumper of impossible resolve brought to tears by the destruction of his home.

And to think that Gene wasn't one of the few civilians to make it made him shutter with utter disgust at himself, not being able to protect the only thing he fought for – to come home and hold her in his arms again.

"El Tee, everything alright?" A voice of smooth political upbringing resounded through the Officers' mess. 2nd Lt Roland was not the type to sit around while his father, a sitting senator discussed and debated for results; he produced them.

"Everything is fine Pretty boy. Just praying the lord doesn't take my only love away besides himself." Everest got up and moved to the dish dispenser. "Lets give those Covie bastards something to think about down there." John sighed, "this is our soil, time to soak it rich with Alien blood. Prep our boys and girls for combat, we got some making up to do."

Roland gave a crisp salute and echoed "Aye Aye Sir." They both moved to the elevator and Roland keyed for the main HEV launch bay.

"ATTENTION ON DECK!" Marines moved into rightly fitted and strict lines as the orders came through booming deck sergeant.

"We shall be jumping into the harsh winter of Azterc. This planet is the size of the Sun located in the Sol System. It is rich with resources and civilian population. We will secure our LZ so that the leathernecks of the 4th Core may make a new home here. By NO means are you to bed down and get comfy in the cold soggy soil."

On a brightly lit screen a older gentleman appeared with a trimmed appearance and a rather large holo projector behind him. General Newton moved to the side as a holo projector illuminated his previous position with a map of Azterc. "As the 2nd ODST Division you shall carve a path through the swath of Covenant forces stationed in the area." He pointed to several distinguishing shapes contoured on the map. "The 32nd, 33rd, and 34th Battalions shall take this hill designated 'Alpha-Charlie-Tango'. With this position taken we shall have the means to spearhead the rest of the region and with luck resurrect the old tank making plant contained with in. The Covenant has seemed too destroy or occupy it, lets make them regret that. _Dismissed_!"

The UNSCS Argonev as a troopship was appraised at 3 km long. Being multi-leveled the ship carried an entire core numbering one _million_ Marines and their assorted equipment. The giant cruiser came into orbit and prepared to drop the HEV pods of twenty- thousand ODSTs into the fray below.

The UNSC fleet Orbiting Azterc came with a few upgrades too. The Sangheili had provided ONI with schematics to shields, Plasma based weaponry, and slipspace technology. ONI was all too happy to take the schematics, bribe political officials for funding, and put new projects in the field.

"Man I love my new Gauss rifle, those mother fucking brutes look like my shit after a good meal." The marine continued to rant around about the new M1A when Everest strolled in.

" Attention on deck Hell jumpers, we go in sixty!" Everest appeared through the automatic blast doors. ODSTs and technicians brought themselves to attention as the distinguished officer strutted through the HEV bay.

Everest commanded the finest outfit in the entire division. Delta Company of the 32nd battalion numbered two hundred strong of the finest killing machines that ever graced the human race. These hardass jarheads had seen it all. From Troy to the damned Ark itself, they were simply put, the best there was short of the Spartans themselves.

The 32nd Battalion itself was pitied among other ODST units as they were often assigned to move in tangent with Spartans and provide utility to them when needed. Sometimes a sizeable distraction or just good ol' back up made all the difference for.

"Well ladies we got last minute info, we will be reinforcing the Spartans on the surface, I want no accidental friendly fire or I'll ship you home to your momma with your balls in your mouth and a boot imprint so far up your ass its imprinted on the bottom of your fucking puke for brains. DO YOU GET ME MARINES?" In a wild but controlled Chorus the entire Battalion responded to Captain Lenard with a combined "SIR YES SIR" blaring the comms of anyone listening.

"Damn right you do." The ships dumb AI came over the board, "15 seconds to drop, good luck."

The HEVs Launched and if only sound could be heard in space a machine gun like firing could be heard as the HEV Launchers sprayed over twenty thousand prospective killers to their destination: _Hell._

As they whizzed by Everest could make out the distinct shape of the new Neptune Class Battleship measuring in at 6 kilometers exchange fire with a Loyalist Assault Carrier. The ship being of its size had reactors onboard to stabilize a turreted Super Magnetically Accelerated Cannon or known simply as SMAC or the affectionate nickname given to it by its sailors GOD SMAC.

The Turret could turn 360 degrees with an impressive amount of speed. The turret turned and fired, but not at the Assault Carrier in front of it, but the one sneaking to flank it. The resulting hit went straight through the ship's shields from port to starboard efficiently gutting the middle of the whale-like structure.

"I want clean comms all the way down marines, once groundside all are to rendezvous at waypoint markers on your HUDs. The enemy numbers are put around 1 and a quarter million, this will not be an easy task marines. Keep your head down and don't forget, use your new shields, ONI decided that its our turn to be super so-," Lenard's pod exploded as a plasma bolt flew through it.

"Captain Everest the Battalion is yours to command per protocol. I hereby field promote you to the rank of Captain." Colonel Yeats could be heard calmly giving out more orders in the background as more and more pods were being destroyed. "Ok marines prepare for disembarkment in 20 seconds," Everest cleared his throat, "our objective is to capture a town with a rather sizeable bridge in it. The Brutes aren't at war with us over holy extermination, they are here for purely territory, they have prisoners and Highcom has expressed an interest in getting them back so watch your fire."

A huge shaking sensation was felt as the HEV pod went through its various stages before a mighty WOOMP was felt and the door disengaged. Plasma fire and rockets screamed overhead as Marines staggered about for cover and cohesion. A King HEV slapped into the ground next to Everest. As he managed to gain his composure a Mac Track rolled out. These new Scorpions armed with a tank sized Gauss cannon, shields, and armor could crush their way through nearly any resistance.

The familiar whoosh of a Wraith sounded not to far in the distance as nine of these nightmares hovered about over the hill. The scorpion was quick to react and accordingly knocked out two before coming under heavy fire. "I want heavy suppression fire on that left flank. Keep those fuel guns away from the scorpion." Everest moved to a crater nearby when he was suddenly hurled into the air by a massive force. He landed on his stomach knocking out all the air in him. Getting up, he looked to see a brute chieftain charging him with grav hammer held high. Suddenly a green blur came up and out of nowhere with a Grav hammer of its own proceeded to knock the giant bear in the stomach knocking it over then crushing its head with one final swing.

"You like your new shields Everest? They just saved your life from that Grav hammer." The erratic beeping sound seemed to fade now as Everest got up and struggled to stand from the pain.

"Not so fast now sir here's some biofoam." The medic proceeded to insert biofoam through an intake in Everest's armor. Feeling a slight alleviation of the ribs Everest made a move to get up and was helped through by Will-043. "Good to see ya again buddy, how was that Onyx shit for ya?"

Will shifted his stance as he let Everest balance himself, "The usual, shooting covenant, running suicide missions, and saving your sorry ass." Everest laughed and jeered back, "Thanks man and how many times has Delta came to save your sorry ass compadre?" Will snorted and responded, "More than I care to remember, so what's the deal with these new Gauss Rifles, I've been killing brutes with one well placed shot sometimes, they just seem to shred their targets. Not even shield wearers have any decent chance." Suddenly another WHOOMP was heard.

A another king sized HEV arrived with a Grizzly sporting dual Gauss cannons, it quickly accelerated over the hill and could be heard joining the symphony of gunfire.

"Sir this Grizzly just took out 4 wraiths in quick succession. Boy oh boy this day just keeps getting better we have already taken the outskirts of the town with fast movers. What are your orders from here?" Lt Anders of Alpha stood atop a warthog overlooking the carnage before him.

"Make a punching bag out of the enemy lines to the Northeast and get snipers in the tall towers ahead."

"Affirmative Sir, Anders out."

They had out rightly slaughtered all Covenant in their way. The Covenant was either playing easy or the UNSC had finally caught up in the technological race.

A warthog pulled up next to Everest and 3 Green Armored figures climbed out. His HUD identified them as Spartan-117, Spartan-058, and Spartan-104. Will-043 stood with Kelly-087 on the opposite side as they had trekked by mongoose.

"Well if it isn't the Green bean Brigade. I guess this mission is top priority if you yahoos are here too." Everest laughed and saluted Master Chief, "I assume you need our assistance in taking the facility?"

"You know it, when your ready to move out let me know. We are ready to roll, but it looks like you need some patching up. That and you should order your tanks together they seemed scattered about chasing enemy armor. The new tech candy really has them going nuts." Master Chief sighed and continued, " We have orders to not only retake the facility but to capture the rumored prophet within. They seem to think the core computer has information key to their war effort."

Another Warthog pulled up and a Corporal got out, walked over to Everest, and saluted. "Your ride is ready Sir. I have orders to take you to the mobile Command post up ahead."

Everest leaned on Will then jumped up into the passenger seat of the Warthog. "Alrighty boys and girls lets start playing. All companies forward. Get all four Grizzlies together; I don't want them running rampant through the countryside. Corporal step on it."

"Yes Sir." The Corporal proceeded to pace the warthog up to 80 KPH as they glided along through the carnage of the previous fight. "So Sir I hear this is the first battle with the new weaponry we got from high up. Do you know if we get to keep them or if its just testing sir?" Everest shifted to get more comfortable, the biofoam worked wonders on the broken ribs but hardly helped with the pain.

"I think that we shall keep the rifles as the ammo they use is by far much cheaper, its caseless and much more effective. Not to mention all the other goodies the Navy and us got. Did you not see the Perseverance and Dawn's Glory making mince meat out of the Covenant armada? I believe this war just took a turn for the worst for our friends on the other side." Everest relaxed as the Warthog came to a sudden but soft stop at a remarkably blown in building.

"_This_ is my CP Anders? What the hell are you thinking, this position is too exposed, call for an elephant to be deployed somewhere west of the bridge and I'll take up residence there, find me a fucking doctor too, I need to get back into _this_ battle!"

Everest limped forward and proceeded to use the nearby communications cart as a temporary crutch.

"Sir I have General Newton on the line sir. He wants to know how our current position is holding."

"Tell him it's the situation is _progressing."_ Everest let out a heavy sigh. Things seemed to be moving in their favor but the loss of Captain Lenard really put a dent in their plans. It forced Everest to move Roland to command Delta and he wasn't sure if the fresh 2nd Lt was ready for two hundred from a previous platoon of forty. He just hoped everything went right or they were in deep shit.

Outside the distant whine of a warthog could be heard. On his HUD display Everest recognized the symbol of ONI and let out a deep sigh. Whatever the Office of Naval Intelligence wanted, it wouldn't be good most of the time. This branch of the Navy specialized in making people's lives hard and annoying. The cost of their missions was a high amount of blood and guessing by the appearances of this fellow his men and women would be paying that price.

The ONI Captain walked up and Everest immediately saluted. "At Ease Captain Everest." Everest relaxed and took off his helmet, the spook continued, "Congratulations on your promotion Captain Everest, but I'm afraid you're going to be tested on your capacity to lead this unit very soon." The ONI Captain shifted to the other side of the room. Being of the Navy this Captain was the Navy Equivalent of a Marine Colonel. "Well son I guess I should introduce myself, I'm Captain Richards of ONI Section III, Beta Subdivision. We overlook the Spartan Program directly under Dr. Catherine Halsey." The Captain pulled out a Cigar and proceeded to light it.

Everest ran his fingers through his short military style haircut before pursing his lips together, " Well Sir I understand that this facility is of major importance to you spooks but with all due respect I don't feel like sending my soldiers into a hotly contested zone only to be massacred by covenant forces."

Richards took a drag before continuing, "Well son you will just have to fight through it, you have the Spartan Red team with you and two Spartan III teams –Rapier and Shanghai- will be joining you. Your objective will not be the Facility itself. That damn factory is dug in with five entire legions defending it. Leave that to the rest of the 2nd, your objective will be to take a small covenant outpost being guarded by an entire legion. You will have a Frigate supporting you via orbit with fresh supplies, air support, artillery, and NAV data. Here is the data disk on the specifics. Good luck and by the way, you should find your new command post coming very soon." The ONI Spook saluted and walked out, jumped in his warthog and drove away with the most nonchalant look on his face. This individual must send marines to their deaths in the droves if he handles suicide missions as a profession thought Everest.

A series of way point markers appeared on his HUD.

"Ok we are moving to the church straight ahead, Lt. Col Wyvern telling me that is where we can find the nearest field hospital and across the street is a hotel, we will setup in the hotel lobby and proceed to advance from there." Everest groaned as the pain in his ribs jutted through his nerves. His ribs didn't exactly agree with the exertion he was creating on them as he moved to jump into the warthog. As he eased himself into the passenger seat the corporal driving gunned forward and advanced through the wreckage of the small town.

The 32nd hand advanced with elements of the 109th Armored contingent assigned to it by high command through most of the Loyalist forces in the area. Three Years ago the fighting would still be taking place in the ruins on the edge of town but with the recent advances in technology the UNSC had gained from cooperation with the Sangheili was huge strides compared to the baby steps taken during the war with captured technology. Most of the tech shined with the new survivability of UNSC units in the form of armor made of interweaved ceramic layers with nano-fibers of composite Titanium B. All armored units had heavy shielding capable of taking up to two or three wraith main cannon hits before failing. A standard marine's shield could hold out against at least half a dozen plasma rounds before failing. Helljumper shields could hold out for about a dozen before falling to repeated fire. But the thing with Helljumper and Spartan shields with that they had a constant recharge so they had to be peppered with constant fire to be brought down efficiently and effectively. Then again the Brutes weren't that smart and so would just keep shooting. But of course by then their surrounding forces or they themselves would be dead.

Everest shook himself out of the trance and raced out of his Warthog came to rest in front of the medical station nestled inside the church. Across the street the newly promoted captain could see the hollowed out Hotel that would serve as his battalion CP –Command Post-. Everest walked into the Church and was immediately greeted by a young el-tee in a white lab coat that was greased with blood from top to bottom. She seemed to be around thirty, older than himself even which indicated she had joined straight out of medical school. Her complexion was of an average Caucasian female with blonde hair and brown eyes.

" Doctor Rochin how bad does it look to you?" Everest shuffled off a sigh as she opened his breastplate and examined the gruesome bruising. Under the armor one could make out the nasty discoloration that looked like some form of an exotic fruit that had been grown in the Pacific region of Earth. All forms of colors were present but had a domination of blue, yellow, and black. " Well John it looks like you got hit pretty good. But your clear for frontline duty and being the usual badass you are." Everest grinned at this, Tatum Rochin tended to have an uplifting personality making her great at medically treating injured personnel giving them hope that they might live through the wounds they had obtained.

"So how does the battle seem to be going? I have a lack of wounded in here compared to usual." Dr. Rochin moved to the other side of the room to grab a needle. She tapped the back and liquid came spitting out onto the dusty concrete floor.

"The battle is surprisingly going extremely well. The entire battalion is advancing on covenant positions throughout the town. The 109th is backing us as we take the town. But the brutal door-to-door fighting is going to start taking its toll here soon. So be ready for casualties coming in." Everest sighed as he realized that even with all the advantages they had now, the UNSC was not invincible.

"Well don't be getting yourself killed on account of doing something stupid. I would really hate one of those bodies over there being one of yours." Rochin finished wrapping him in a bandage and slapped him on the back. "Go pay your respects to the enemy for me." Rochin smiled and saluted. "You got it Doc, but I'm afraid that spook who came through earlier has something very bold for us to accomplish. See you on the flip side." John returned the salute and moved through the corridor out into the main chamber of the Citadel.

The room was on the south side of the Gothic-like Citadel as the main double doors face east. The inside was spacious with painted glass windows and beautiful rows of oak benches. At the front an altar sat with a red carpet running the length of the citadel from west to east. Priests were saying rites to the dead as they lay at the foot of the stairs to the altar. In the corner a priest began playing a song of morbid content on a well-tuned violin. Outside the requiem of war could be heard, the sirens singing their songs of death. The rhythms of song interspersed with cries of the dying and silence of the dead. Everest sighed and walked out of the citadel, the ground was soggy with snow and wet all over. The cries of war became amplified as the walls of the citadel were left behind. Soon he would be thrust straight into the devil's playground and there was little to nothing he could do about it but buck up and be as ready as he and his helljumpers could be.

A Corporal came running out of the hotel to him and saluted." Sir the CP has been setup, all companies are currently holding positions at five major points of contact. Light casualties are being reported throughout the front lines and procedures are being conducted to evacuate them. We are ready to move when ready sir." Everest walked with the corporal to hotel and into the CP. The entire lobby had to be about a third of the size of the Cathedral's main hall. A staircase was on either side leading to rooms with a center desk for greeting guests. In the middle of the floor stood a fountain that had since seized to function with the surrounding combat. On it's left stood a table with holograms moving throughout, red representing Covenant Loyalist positions and blue the 32nd advancing steadily forward along the town's main boulevard. On the right stood communications equipment as radio feeds were received from all around the UNSC battle network.

Everest walked to the communications technicians and asked about pending orders, "Sir we have received orders straight from High Command that would are to advance took some obscure location located in the mountains to the north. The valley seems isolated from the rest of the battlefield and mountain ranges. Seems like a perfect location to go unnoticed. HC seems to have specified that we capture a high-ranking prophet that resides in the outpost. Fleet seems to have pushed the Covies' fleet back and an Assault Carrier is sitting directly over the Outpost now along with 4 CCS Battle Cruisers. The entire 2nd and 3rd ODST Divisions are being rerouted to this pass sir, it's not just our mission anymore." The technician took a deep breath and exhaled.

" Thank you Bob for the sitrep. So we are basically just going to sit tight and wait for the rest of the division?" Everest was uncomfortable with having to wait out for the rest of the division to get here, this meant that those five ships would be pouring reinforcements into the valley which made one legion jump to ten at the very least. They were going in outnumbered but certainly not outgunned.

"Pretty much sir, we have to hang tight and hope for the best, Intel tells us that the Covies are advancing with an entire regiment on our position. About five-dozen light and heavy armor units with them. Sats in orbit are picking up 18 Phantoms and 34 Banshees as well sir." Bob took a breath again and went back to looking at his screen.

Staff Sergeant Bob Virgo had been in the marines for over 15 years and survived too many engagements to really recall. He had served as a frontline grunt for 10 of those years and then got a transfer to the battalion command staff and worked with Intel. Virgo being experienced as he was, made for a great source to differ on battlefield decisions affecting the battalion as a whole.

"So what do you think we should do Virgo? I'm thinking of pulling our boys and girls back to defensible positions until Division gets here." Everest rested against the table and fumbled with his helmet.

"Well sir I would think we should do just that. Have the armor dig in at rubble positions and hold, we have that frigate for fire support so we are in a good position…wait sir the frigate is having to provide support for the entire division now. The Covies are hitting us hard." Bob started calling the respective company commanders to pull back and prepare defensible positions.

" Dammit, any good news at all?" Everest inclined his head toward the other Technician, 1st LT Allie Sanchez, the women in charge of the comm.

"Well sir the Sangheili have just arrived in system with a fleet of Warships, They are deploying a company to us." Sanchez picked up her headphones as more static came through. "Yes sir, Kodiaks are enroute? Affirmative I will alert the Captain." Sanchez took of the headset and looked at Everest, "Sir the elites are sending Honor Guards to help us, any reason why they would send us their very best? Oh and the Fleet master sends his best wishes." Sanchez gave him a glare of curiosity to which he responded.

"Well you see me and those elites go way back." His reply warm and crisp, his eyes darting up to the top right of his eyelids as his brain shot through old memories of fighting off the Brute invasion of Sanghielos back in late 2553.

"Well sir high com is rather curious to know about it, what should I tell them?" Sanchez rolled her eyes knowing ONI had to have their hands in everything.

"I stabbed a Chieftain through the heart with an energy sword and killed several brutes assaulting the High Councilor's Citadel on Sanghielos. That's pretty much it Lt. The rest is in my after action report which is highly classified." Everest responded in kind, not wanting to go any deeper into it. That was a time that solidified the bond between the Elites and Humans. Now days the Elites would follow the Humans almost fanatically.

The Elites felt the need to right their wrongs, so in doing so they found that they needed to follow the humans wherever they went in war or peace. Joint colonies of the two species were a result of such loyalty. The Elites would send ships to protect human interests anywhere. This showed Humanity that they had a new stalwart ally and by now wounds had started to mend and the two races found a common ground and had formed an alliance known as the Orion Conglomerate. The hunters, majority of the grunts, and Hurgalok had all joined shortly afterward.

Sanchez shifted and spoke, "Sir we are receiving Elite transmissions, they have landed and are right off Alpha companies left flank." Everest moved to his right and answered, "Alright tell them to form up and split into 5 different support groups to support each individual company and have their leader report here. Order the Phantoms on standby to the LZ two clicks South of us." Sanchez answered with a crisp salute and returned to duty as Everest moved to the Warthog outside the HQ. He stepped into the drivers seat and shouted, "Corporal get your ass in the gunner slot and lets move." The corporal complied and mounted up. Everest sped off to the battle. Fate waiting to assign him his share of glory and tragedy, he thought about Gene, about Roland, about his future as he drove towards the heart of the conflict ahead. The Covenant would know no _mercy_ today.

_Gene, one day I will hold you again._

_Author's Notes: Hey everyone would just like to thank you for reading through my first fanfiction. I will be updating quite regularly and would like to get someone to Beta my story for me. Currently I'm still working out the kinks in Chapter 1 and updating it. I had originally broken Everest's ribs but decided against it, I know somewhere in here I still have it labeled as such. Hope I didn't do too bad. Read and **Review!**  
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	3. Chapter 2: Surprise!

_Chapter 2: Surprise!_

_June 5__th__ 2555, unknown time,_

_Unknown location_

The room had a slight chill to it. The air turned to well below average room temperature. The entire room was black with only a couple dim lights. In the middle of the room was an obsidian table with a beautiful woman and an older slim gentleman with a pair of eagles on his uniform. He sat there silently shuffling papers and occasionally drinking coffee. Every so often his AI, Erebus, would pop in with information. The man sat here going through data, looking for some type of information that continued to elude him like the plague. The laptop before him bristled with a sound and drew his attention.

"Ah here we are Ms. Cole. The file that Section zero was so gracious to send me." He opened nonchalantly.

In this file was the entirety of her life and what made her "special" to ONI. For many years ONI had wanted her, but she was protected so well. After Reach she had managed to contact someone who got her away from ONI. But as always, once a light has burned out, darkness swarms the location. ONI had pulled 'strings' and found Ms. Cole before she could manage to get away. Now her grandmother and her 'friends' lay in pulls of blood and their asteroid base a massive rock of blackened char.

Gene sat there in tears. Her face red and her hair ruffled. She had spent many months with her suppose to be dead grandmother, Lyrenne Castilla. Her grandfather had made a brief appearance but had to bug out for unknown circumstances. How ONI had found them was still somewhat a mystery. What was an even greater mystery was what they wanted her for. They had run a multitude of medical tests on her and for what she had no idea. They tested everything they could find and really only remarked on how 'perfect' her DNA was. She kept hearing words such as 'telepathic' and 'triple helix.' All of which scared her into wondering what the hell ONI was going about.

"Ms. Cole your track record with the excavations we've sent you on is quite profound." The man put on his best poker face. No need to be rude. "Looking through your logs, most, if not all the Forerunner artifacts that you came across, 'opened' themselves to you. Such data has helped the war effort against the Covenant of course. But we were wondering if you would be so kind to help us with Project Pandora?"

Gene looked up, anger in her eyes. Never would she help with such an atrocity. "With all due respect Captain, you can go fuck yourself."

His smile quickly turned to a frown. "Have it yourself Ms. Cole."

_June 6, 2555, 1030 Zulu_

_Geneva, Earth, Sol System_

_President's Office_

Throughout all of his term, President Jack Anderson had been a driving force for rearmament. The military may have taken over in the early years of the war, but they still didn't have the treasury to fund their war. This is where Anderson comes in. He had served 10 years on the frontlines of the Covenant and had used his parent's wealth and influence to get into politics right after. He started as the Secretary of the Treasury and supported bills that brought in new weapons and armor that would never have happened otherwise like the Mjolnir V and VI. He had even seen to the development of shields for a select number of ships and the making of the burst MAC system that allowed 3 rounds to be fired on one charge. Money went a long way, but more was needed to see the tide turn.

The senate had controlled the finances and had slowly choked the funding to the military. Only when military veterans start getting elected did things actually take a turn for the better. Funding was allocated to Research and Development for a multitude of different projects. But that still wasn't enough; drastic measure had to be taken as the majority in the Senate was still held by rich snobby bastards. Anderson went on the campaign trail and with his influence and connections, managed to get footage of the glassing of colonies, the slaughter of civilians, and showed the outrageous brutality of the war. Overwhelmed, the public and media outlets cried out for action against the Covenant. Those politicians who didn't want to lose their seats immediately supported the President's new Rearmament bill. The military finally received the money it needed to combat the Covenant. But it came all but too late as the Covenant sacked Reach and shortly afterward hit Earth. Of course that didn't mean that the R&D mooks hadn't cooked up anything.

The new weapons of war came to be of great effect against the Covenant, albeit in limited numbers. At least one infantry division at the battle of Paris was completely armed with new rifles, armor, tanks, and aircraft. The Covenant was unprepared for the amount of Carnage that followed. 20,000 marines of the 754th Infantry division not only pushed back three legions, but completely annihilated them from the face of existence. Granted a Covenant legion is around 10 to 12,000 in total number, they got completely ousted from France in the following campaign as the 754th and the 1013th armored division bulldozed all the way to the beleaguered defenders of Berlin.

Through the hallways of the Presidential Palace marched a trio of men in black uniforms. Crisp and clean cut, these men walked in perfect unison to the President's office. Behind them walked a legend. The search for him had been nothing if not exhausting.

Jack was a tough man to impress or even surprise, but who stood before him surprised him enough to control his facial features. Before him stood a legend among humanity. Two men who had saved humanity and snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.

"Welcome home Admiral Cole." Jack grinned.

Cole saluted, "Thank you sir. But I also wish to find her."

The lead Spook step forward. A pair of bird wings on his uniform. "Admiral rest assured. We will find your granddaughter." The mans face a warm smile.

_June 8, 2555, 2200 Zulu_

Raptim System, Azterc

_3 klicks from Covenant 'Absolution through Faith'_

UNSC Frontlines

John Everest stood still as he viewed the amount of wounded coming from the lines. The Covenant had recovered and were steadily pushing the UNSC back. What was worse was that the UNSC actually outnumbered the Covenant here, nothing they seemed to do actually helped the situation. But the thing that seemed to be the worst of all the news coming in was that there was a prophet directing the Covenant forces directly. And not the standard 'watch the battle and issue orders from the bridge type'. This Prophet was athletically built and was wearing the armor of a councilor and directing the forces expertly. Footage this new Covenant leader tango one on one with a Spartan, of which they seemed evenly matched, and only by the intervention of another Spartan did this Prophet break off.

John had to hand it to this guy, he had balls. Not something he could say about the rest of the San'Shyuum.

"Sir the Covenant are broadcasting signal over the band." A tech on the other side of the elephant relayed.

"Patch it through Corporal." On the screen John watched a muscular Prophet appear.

"Flee before the might of the Covenant you pathetic humans. The day of your judgment comes! We shall watch over you like a mighty ocean of righteousness. Even now your mighty demons cannot stand before me. Behold! I am the Prophet of War! A reckoning shall be had. Truth, Mercy, and Regret were weak. The true San'Shyuum will bring about Salvation!" And with that the message ended and on the other side of the valley a Supercarrier appeared. On the screen it showed the Spartan beheaded by an energy sword.

Multiple grav-lifts appeared along the ships entire length, or what could be seen, and tens of thousands of Covenant poured out. On the frontlines prophets were appearing, carrying energy swords and honor pikes.

"Oh shit." Muttered one of the techs. John turned around and silenced him.

"Pull all companies back to secondary positions. Contact Highcom for reinforcements."

John ordered. This battle was already going bad, and now bad just went to worse.

"Sir Highcom says that the 319th Marine Division is coming up from reserve to replace us on the line. Noble-four reports enemy armor formations on our western flank."

As the wraith armor formations moved into place around their Scarab counterparts, a massive explosion took place to the rear of the lines. A Squadron of Sparrowhawks flew out from behind two smoldering scarabs and headed for the UNSC lines. An entire quartet of Seraphs followed them, shooting down three before in turn being shot down by UNSC AAA and Sabers.

John watched the brief skirmish in the sky before setting his eyes on the command screen for his battalion. For 6 days they had duked it out with the Covenant military for control over the Forerunner facility with no end in sight. The Covenant fleet had destroyed two Neptunes in orbit and then made its way through the UNSC blockade completely unmolested and landed an additional 45 legions on the surface of Azterc.

The core of marines pushing this region were already having casualties in the low hundreds of thousands and outnumbered 3 to 1. This was a shitty situation, despite the technological difference in the fighting. The Covenant had finally gotten smart and reserved Wraiths for Artillery only. Now they had a new tank with a turreted straight firing energy projector that could roast any UNSC armor on the battlefield short of the Grizzly. Armor battles were pretty much whoever gets the shot off first wins, knowing either side could one shot each other. Infantry were on the UNSC side were faring better than their Covenant counterparts since they had better training, weaponry, and in some cases protection. Airpower was the Quality of the UNSC versus the Quantity of the Covenant. If the UNSC could field more Air, then victory was assured short of a cruiser shooting them down with pulse lasers of they got too close.

The death of the Spartan however decided that moral was with the Covenant. Not to be mistaken, the marines were enraged by it, but that also meant hesitation on command's part on sending Spartan's on deep missions for the duration of the battle. These San'Shyuum were unlike anything they had ever encountered, they actually fought as well as the Sangheili, but had more brains for tactics. It was a scary Recipe, someone who could match the UNSC in tactical situations. These prophets weren't pulling the forerunner relict bullshit either to hinder their forces, they were going all out.

_Present time_

_Orbit over Azterc_

_UNSCS My Foot, Neptune Class Battleship, 3__rd__ Fleet Flag_

Rear Admiral Miranda Keyes watched as another Covenant ship went up. The entirety of the UNSC 4th Fleet had been slammed. 110 ships had been here a week ago fighting over orbit of Azterc. Now only 43 ships remained. The 3rd had been called to reinforce the 4th after the Covenant had brought in another 200 ships to reinforce the original 224 they had in orbit. The UNSC Navy could take the Covenant head on now with some odds being as great as 1:4 ratio, but it normally hovered around 1:2. But with the recent message, Keyes was expecting that to fall to 1:1. This new Covenant leadership was no joke, they're fleet was massing and was executing maneuvers that hadn't been seen since the Elites still ruled the Covenant Military scene.

The Coalition as they called themselves, had lent a fleet of 133 ships to the aid of the humans, bringing the fight to a even enough pace. But that wasn't what had Keyes smiling at the moment. The fact that the 'Wrath of God' would be making its debut here any moment was the one thing that would turn this entire battle around.

_Office of Naval Intelligence / 2187-120972-292 / Eyes Only_

_Name: Wrath of God_

_Class: Super Battleship_

_Length: Thirty-one Kilometers_

_Crew: 6500_

_Armament: Prototype hyper MAC_

_2x rotational Super MACs_

_600x Pulse laser Point defense turrets_

_600x Rail gun Point defense cannons_

_500x Oversized Archer Missile Pods_

_Varying number of Nuclear armaments_

_Compliment: Capable of Carrying a core of marines for a short time to and from battlefields._

_350x Longsword Interceptors_

_900x Sabre Fighters_

_Misc other armaments depending on mission to be carried out._

There would truly be a reckoning for the 3 Covenant Supercarriers in Orbit. Even the Coalition would be in for a surprise as the Hyper MAC put the enemy down like the animals they were.

"Ma'am the 'Wrath of God' has arrived." The comm. Officer sounded off enthusiastically.

"Good patch me through to the Commanding Officer." Keyes ordered.

The screen flickered on and an older gentleman turned around to address Keyes.

"Ah the daughter of Doctor Halsey and Captain Keyes. Quite the combination really." The man smiled. Miranda just stood slack jawed with the rest of her crew.

"Admiral Cole…"


End file.
